This blog is supported by affiliate ads. When you click on an ad and purchase a product, I get a small commission on the sale. This does not increase the price of the product for you at all. You are not obligated to purchase from ads to read on this blog. Thank you for your support.

So I haven't been posting much, because it's so hot here, I haven't really been gardening much. It's all I can do, with the heat sensitivity of the lupus, to even keep up with mowing and weed whacking. I took a few pictures the other day of what is blooming, or was when I took them, so here they are. Enjoy!

A Blackberry Lily volunteered itself behind the Jatropha tree last year. I have no idea where it came from, some seed probably washed in on a storm. It bloomed this year for the first time.

Angel Wing cane begonia and Religious Radish Coleus. These two plants seem to live in spite of me. I've killed so many coleus and begonias, but these just go on and on.

Aechmea bromeliad. I don't know the exact variety, because there are a lot that look just like this one. I usually get more blooms, but the freeze hit this one, and it just didn't bloom this year like usual.

I bought this crape myrtle at a small garden center outside of Ocala on my way back from SC once. It's "Dallas Red", which I thought was a true red, but really isn't. I like it, though. It's a deep red-pink that is pretty, but I still want a true red one.

"Dancing Ladies" globba gingers. I love these. They are so delicate and beautiful. I wish I had the pink. If anyone has one, I'll be glad to trade "bulblets" with you.

My firebush died down to the ground in the freeze, but is about 3 feet tall now and blooming. I have another that I want to plant alongside this one to make a hedge. If I plant them far enough apart, they'll actually get large enough to fill in the space. These bushes are amazing with how fast they grow.

Gloriosa lily. This picture doesn't really show the bright colors. I'll try to get a better one later.

Jatropha shrub that I can't seem to get rid of. I had truly hoped that it was dead this year after the freeze, but it came back up, and is really pretty. Unfortunately, it's in a very bad place, and will start leaning toward the sun as it gets larger. Do you know how huge the root ball is on these plants? I tried to dig it up. No way.

The Jatropha tree is doing well after freezing completely down to the ground. Several trunks have come up, and I've chosen one that I will make the new tree out of . I will cut off the rest and root them to give away.

I thought I would get no Key Limes this year, because the blooms all blew off of the tree in a big spring storm, but it seems it is blooming again, so maybe I'll get enough for a pie.

Native spider lilies. These are really large plants. This one was rescued from the house next door after its owner died, and the new resident was just letting the yard go to hell.

This is some unknown variety of Euphorbia Milii, Crown of Thorns. The stems are square, and twist as they grow, which makes it very interesting.

Yellow Thai Crown of Thorns, which is doing very well after some freeze damage caused me to have to prune it back severely. I had thought I would have to start it over from cuttings, but it came back out with a vengeance.

Weeds are taking over, as they do every summer, but this last little late blooming double orange ditch lily was determined to bloom despite the weeds choking it out.

Speaking of weeds, this is what happens to your African Iris if you don't weed around it regularly. This is for anyone who thinks I must have a beautiful yard. Actually, my yard is ugly. It's the plants that are pretty.